Family Travel | Vegetarian Dining

HRVST – Bringing Sexy Back to Vegan Dining: Review

4th April 2018

Pooja Bakhshi

The latest vegan restaurant in town is one with a difference. For one, its housed in a gym, right in the heart of CBD. Secondly, they make vegan food everything you probably never imagined it to be – delicious and attractive, instead of limited and boring.

Despite having been a vegetarian all my life, all-vegan restaurants have never attracted me much because of the lack of choices, and in most cases the lack of vegetables with an overdose of mock-meat, tofu and seaweed on the menu. Not so at HRVST. One look at the menu and pictures of the food here, and I knew I had to visit soon. HRVST practically re-invents vegan cuisine – serving dishes that are healthier, wallet-friendly and oh, so pretty! The menu is well balanced and there are no faux meats either. This, for me, is a big plus.

The restaurant is helmed by head chefs Addis Tan and Dylan Choong, who have worked in many prestigious kitchens, with Tippling Club, Esquina and Cheek by Jowl being the most recent.

HRVST has a well-rounded menu with appetisers, bar snacks, mains and desserts. The dishes are innovative and brilliantly plated – some of the most beautiful food I’ve seen in town. In some dishes, the culinary expertise of the chefs shines through as they successfully bring together Asian and Western ingredients and flavours to create dishes that are nothing short of delightful. Read on for the review but we’ve already added HRVST to the list of our Favourite Vegetarian & Vegan Restaurants in Singapore.

Bar Snacks & Appetisers at HRVST

We tried the Fried Chickpeas (S$5) – these are sprinkled with a Szechuan sour plum powder and served in a paper cone and are absolutely addictive. I’m guessing the inspiration comes from India – as a kid, I remember eating street food that was served such. Also quite good are the Twice Cooked Spuds (S$8), the baby potatoes come with a soy-based garlic aioli sauce and are topped with chives.

From the appetisers, we chose the King Oyster Scallops (S$12) – mushrooms shaped like scallops, along with spinach puree, baby corn, baby carrot, toasted hazelnuts, garlic “snow” and lemon zest. Beautifully plated, this is one of the most attractive dishes on the menu. It is also one of the healthiest and tastiest – the dish oozes freshness and is full of colour and natural flavours. The spinach puree contains spirulina which you can’t even taste. Healthy, but tastes indulgent.

Mains at HRVST

The Pumpkin Gnocchi (S$16) was a hit with the first bite. Served in a Tom Yum broth, with shimeji mushrooms and baby corn, topped with coriander oil and Japanese cucumber ribbons, it is packed with vibrant flavours. The dish is a tasteful harmony of Eastern and Western flavours. Not only was this the star dish of our meal at HRVST, it is also one of the better vegan dishes I’ve had. The broth is awesome, just the right amount of tang and spiciness, and the coriander oil adds a nice balancing touch.

Next up was BKT Barley Risotto (S$16), HRVST’s vegan take on Bak Kut Teh. The BKT comes complete with braised nuts, diced daikon, dough crisps, garlic chips and garlic oil. However, if there was one dish that evening that did not excite me, it was this that I found to be average.

Rounding off the mains nicely was Hay Salt Baked Celeriac (S$18), on a bed of delicious onion puree. On the side are charred kale chips and Shimeji tempura, garnished with mushroom shavings and maple puffed rice. Another perfect number, it gave serious competition to the Pumpkin gnocchi. So, taking personal tastes into consideration, this could well be the dish of the evening for you.

Dessert at HRVST

Dessert was an interesting combination of Caramelised Pineapple Ring, Clove Ice-cream and Tart Crumbs (S$8). Interesting and confusing! I am not exaggerating when I say that the ice-cream played tricks on my palate. It confused me into believing that it was too clove-y in one bite and completely fall in love with the slightly salty taste in the next bite. Tart Crumbs tasted delicious and quite buttery and I couldn’t stop myself from asking the chefs how they do that without using butter. Well, they use soy milk, if you’re vegan, you’re definitely safe here.

Verdict

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HRVST dishes up some of the best vegan food in Singapore. This cosy restaurant is definitely a great place to enjoy vegan dishes that tantalise both the eyes and the palate. The menu is well rounded, with a variety of dishes that are healthier and beautifully plated. The icing on the cake is that the food is reasonably priced. The drinks, however, seem to be on the pricier side. I didn’t look at the bar menu but I did find the house wine expensive at S$14 per glass.

The restaurant can be a little tricky to find, but once you do, you’ll be glad you did. The interiors are chic, with charming accents and the rooftop alfresco bar area has quite a cool vibe to it. Stop here for a meal and you won’t regret it.

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Founder and Editor-in-Chief of EatRoamLive, Pooja’s enthusiasm for food and travelling is palpable from the variety and intensity with which she writes. A traveller at heart and a big-time foodie who happens to be a vegetarian, EatRoamLive was incepted with her desire to create a resource aimed at making travel fun, and not restrictive, for families and for vegetarians. Not just (solely) vegetarian restaurants, she marks out places that serve sumptuous food with enough meat-free options. A hands-on mum to 3 young kids, the former architect and interior designer has her hands full juggling her love for writing, travelling and home.

2 comments

My friend and I were at HRVST and were appalled at the cook’s (who does not deserve to be called a chef) response towards our feedback on the food.

The pasta was overcooked and became lumpy, the cook said that was intentional to suit the taste of the crowd, added that it is our problem for not liking it and insisted we should make a special request for the pasta to be cooked al dente. I do not know of any decent chef who thinks pasta is not to be cooked al dente by default.

We were curious if the braised peanuts are canned food.The same cook repeatedly refuse to answer the straight forward yes/no Q and went “you don’t have to know.” and “so what if it is canned peanuts?” He does not understand that as customer, we have the rights to know what we are consuming. I am astonished that a place which advocates healthy moving and clean eating (base on their PR release in several websites) uses processed ingredients.

Hi there, seems like your visit to HRVST didn’t go quite well. Just to let you know that we have no affiliation or partnership with the restaurant, we just visited once for the review. Contrary to your experience, ours was really fabulous – the food was quite fantastic and the staff friendly. Why don’t you try dropping an email to the restaurant about your experience, I’m sure they’ll get back. So sorry your visit wasn’t great.

Event Details

A specially curated Plant-Based menu by Vegan Chef Damian Piedrahita. The menu is Italian inspired with a mix of Mediterranean flavours. We’ll enjoy this meal in the unique and cosy ambience of Waterfall’s Private Dining, making this an elevated dining experience. We have just a few seats left, so please book now to avoid dissappointment!

Chef Damian originally hails from Uruguay, but has worked around the world, most recently in Italy. Chef Damian is presently in Singapore, as a consulting chef at Shangri-La Hotel. Chef Damian promotes a kitchen free from animal products, using fresh and quality food. The philosophy of his kitchen claims with passion and dedication, to create a true gastronomic culture capable of nourishing the body and making the mind travel; and that is exactly what this dinner aims to achieve.

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